Sleeping blanket and fabric for like uses



S. E. STAIN ES SLEEPING' BLNKET AND FABRIC FOR LIKE 4USES oci. 3, 1944.

Filed Jan. 23, 1943 wl4 E.

gf L ml I Patented Oct. 3, 1944 SLEEPING BLANKE'D AND FABRIC FOR LIKEUSES Samuel E. Staines, Allendale, N. J., assignor to Botany WorstedMills, Passaic, N. J., a corporationof New Jersey Application January23, 1943, Serial No. 473,288

This invention relates to fabrics and more particularly to fabricblankets used for sleeping purposes and for other purposes. The objectof the invention is to provide fabrics of extremely light weight and ofhigh insulating characteristics when used in the form of sleepingblankets. Airway systems, including those that provide sleepingaccommodations for passengers in airplanes, have for some time beenconfronted with the problem of reducing the load of the furnishings andequipment normally carried by airplanes. One of the phases of thisproblem involves the reduction of weight of sleeping blankets with whichairplanes are equipped. Airplane engineers have, for .some time, beenattempting to reduce the weight of sleeping blankets from a presentweight of approximately two and onehalf pounds to a weight of not morethan one and two-fifths pounds for a sleeping blanket 84 inches by 55inches, without, however, substantially reducing the insulating orwarmth values thereof or vthe strength of the fabric.

This invention provides a fabric or blanket, conforming to the foregoingrequirements, by the use of which thousands of pounds of load can besaved yearly by the airplane operating systems, as well las -thousandsof ldollars in fuel and the like.

As an example for setting forth this invention, the details thereof aredescribed in connection with a sleeping blanket, but the fabric iscapable of other uses in airplanes, as well as having use as sleepingblankets for ordinary household equipment.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan View of a suitable fabric capable ofbeing converted into the final product of this invention; Fig. 2 is anedge view along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the warp in section andindicating the filler threads; Fig. 3 is an illustrative plan Viewshowing the finished fabric; Fig. 4 is an illustrative section on theline 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is illustrative of the compound fillerthread. All of the figures of the drawing are representations about sixtimes larger than actual size.

The base fabric, illustrated in Fig. 1, consists of Warp threads I,preferably worsted, and filler threads 2. The filler threads 2 actuallycomprise a compound thread consisting of a core thread 3 (preferablyworsted) and a thicker wool yarn 4. The wool yarn 4 is spirally woundaround the worsted core thread 3 (see Fig. 5), each successiveconvolution providing a space 5. The worsted threads may be either asingle thread or made up of two twisted plies. The wool yarn 4 is woundspirally of the core thread 3 -i-n contradistinction to Winding thevcore thread 3 around the wool yarn 4, in order that the core thread 3should run centrally of the spiral wool yarn 4 so that the latter,rather than the vcore thread, should be exposed in the fabric. Inweaving the material of Fig. 1, `the warp and filler threads are spacedslightly apart to provide fairly regular apertures or interstices 6 over'the whole of the fabric. In the particular fabric shown in Fig. v1, thewarp threads cross one another periodically as at l, and embrace betweeneachpair of crossings a pair of filler members 2. The filler threadsdiverge after passing between 'two crossings 1 to the next pairs ofcrossings and in their divergence form the apertures or interstices '6,the general course of the Warp and filler threads being clearly shown inFig. 1. Many different types of fabrics can be prepared utilizing a warpand compound filler thread interwoven to provide a regular pattern ofapertures or interstices. Actually in the fabric as .shown in Fig. 1,the apertures or interstices are generally of the` size of the order ofpin heads, their contour not being of .any material consequence.

The Woven fabric of Fig. 1 ispassed through a napping machine in whichit is scratched up to forma heavy nap 8 over the entire surface of thematerial and the nap is turned back or has its free ends turneddownwardly in contradistincticn to standing upright, forming amultiplicity of spaces 9 lying between the top surface of the nap onboth sides of the fabric and the main portion of the warp and llermembers. By far the major portion of the napping operation is performedon the yarn 4, no large amount of napping operations being done on thethreads I and 3. The napping operation when completed on both sides ofthe fabric, provides the entire surface of the fabric with a heavy napdistributed fairly uniformly over the entire fabric surface.Theoretically, the thickness of the solid portion of the wool yarn 4 isreduced, but the thickness of the fabric by reason of the two outernapping layers is substantially increased.

The fabric, after the completion of the napping operation, which canreadily be done in long lengths of fabric, can then be out to size andconfiguration for whatever purpose it is intended to be used.

The finished fabric is made up of three distinct systems of airspaces-initially, the space 5, provided by winding the wool yarn 4spirally of the core thread 3. The second system 4of spaces is providedby weaving the fabric to form or pro- Vide apertures or interstices 6,and the third system, the spaces 9, providedby the turned down andintermingled nap on both sides of the fabric. The nap 8 lies over thespaces 5 and 6, and thus there is provided a multiple air space systemfrom and around the core thread 3 to the surfaces of the nap on bothsides of the fabric.

The fabric when converted into blankets has high warmth-characteristics,substantially equalling that of the two-layer type of blankets nowwidely in use, and in blanket size, 84 inches by 55 inches, weighsapproximately one-half of that of the two-layer type of blanket. It hasalso been experienced that the blanket of this invention loses less ofits warmth-producing characteristics on repeated dry cleaning than thetwolayer type of blanket.

1. A fabric comprising warp members and filler members woven together,the ller members comprising a core and ya member spirally wound thereon,successive convolutions of said spirally wound thread being spaced apartYto provide spaces between said successive convolutions, pairs of warpmembers periodically crossing and forming pairs of twists, two compoundfillers periodically passing between said twists and, after so passingbetween said twists, diverging toward adjoining twists, and therebyforming interstices in the fabric, a nap formed on both sides of thefabric, the spaces between convolutions of the spirally-wound fillermember and its core, said interstices and the spaces between the nap,forming the systems of air spaces, said nap being raised to a largeextent from said spirally-wound ller member and overlying both sides ofthe air spaces formed by the spirally-wound member and said interstices.

, 2. A fabric according to, claim 1 in which the napends are turned backand the ends thereof intermingled 3. A fabric blanket comprising warpand ller members, the warp members consisting of only two threadsperiodically twisted one thread over the other, the threads `betweeneach adjoining pair of such twists being spaced apart, the fillermembers comprising a core thread'and a thread wound spirally on saidcore thread, successive convolutions of said spirally wound thread beingspaced apart to provide spaces between such successive convolutions,each filler member in its course in the fabric diverging back and forthand in each diverging course passing with another ller member betweentwo spaced members, each filler member and its companion member, passingbetween any two given spaced members, being different than in thepreceding spaced members, the relation of said filler members to eachother and to the warp members forming interstices over the fabric, a napon the fabric, a large portion of said nap comprising material raisedAfrom said spirally Wound thread.

4. Aoblanket comprising warps and fillers woven together, the fillerscomprising a plurality of cores and a thread wound spirally on saidcores in successive convolutions, such successive convolutions providingair spaces along the outer surfaces of the llers, warp members'periodically crossing and forming spaced twists, each filler in itscourse in the blanket passing between twists formed by warps andperiodically diverging and passing between other twists formed by thewarps, thereby forming interstices in the blanket, a nap formed on theblanket to a large extent by napping the filler, the spaces between theconvolutions of the twisted ller members, said interstices, and thespaces between the nap, forming a system of air spaces.

5. A blanket comprising a series of warps and llers, Warps periodicallycrossing, and between such crossings forming loops, fillers in theircourses passing through a multiplicity of loops and in their coursesperiodically diverging, adjoining diverging sections of llers forminginterstices located between pairs of warp loops, the fillers comprisinga plurality of cores and a thread wound spirally on said cores,anap onboth sides of the blanket overlying the said fillers and interstices, alarge portion of said nap comprising material raised from said fillers.

6. A blanketV according to claim 5 in which the llers comprise astraight core having a heavier wool yarn spirally wound thereon, and thenap being formed to the greater extent from said wool yarn. Y k

SAMUEL E. STAINES.

